Sunday, June 26, 2011

Alf Filer - sad loss of a committed comrade

We have learned of the sad death of Alf Filer, the creator of this blog, activist in Worthing and previously a long-time activist in Brent and Harrow in North-West London. He was killed in a road accident on the A27, on Thursday evening 24th June, while returning home from a Socialist Resistance meeting in Brighton. It appears that his car broke down, and, while waiting for rescue, another car ploughed into his, knocking it into him. The bare facts of the accident are on the Argus web site: http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/9105972.Worthing_man_killed_by_own_car_in_horror_crash/?ref=mr

Tony Greenstein, a well known anti-zionist and local socialist activist has written this:

My friend and comrade Alf Filer has been tragically killed in a car accident last Thursday evening.

Alf had only moved to Sussex in the last year or so and had made his home in Worthing having previously lived in London. Alf was meant to be (semi) retiring to the south coast but, characteristically, that was never going to happen.

Alf was a committed socialist, anti-fascist and anti-Zionist. He campaigned locally and nationally against cuts (he was a prime mover in the formation of the Coalition of Resistance) and he organised against the EDL and the BNP, both here and in Brent and Harrow where he spent the greater part of his life.

Others have written tributes and appreciations from a perspective of having known him for a long time, but you did not need to know Alf for long to appreciate his passion for politics and campaigining. This is shown in the tributes which have been paid from activists in Sussex.

Alf was a member of Socialist Resistance, and he played an incredible part in revitalising us locally. He started a local blog and his main activity was to try to bring together the forces of the left in Worthing. Not, you might think, the most fertile of ground, but that sort of thing never deterred Alf. He was passionate about left unity, and was possible the most non-sectarian socialist I have ever known. He worked with and helped to bring together the different parts of the Worthing left into regular meetings. A meeting which he organised, on Ecosocialism, is happening this Tuesday. Everyone involved is of the view that this meeting must go ahead as a tribute to Alf.

Alf was serious about his politics - but he was also a joker. I shall miss, as much as anything, his wisecracks and his wind-ups.

A truly brilliant, dedicated and lovable man.

Below, Holly Smith, President of Brighton and Hove Trades Council, gives her own memories of Alf, and below that are links to other tributes from people who knew Alf longer for me.

I, along with many, many others, am saddened to hear of the death of Alf Filer. It feels like those of us in Brighton and the South East were only just getting to know him. After retiring as a lecturer he moved down to Worthing last year from London, and didn’t hesitate in getting involved in political activity down here.

The first time I met him was at a public meeting to oppose a local school becoming an academy. He had only just moved to the area and was keen to know about all the events and groups that existed down here so he could get stuck in.
The next time I met him was at an anti-cuts day school that we had organised. I chaired a workshop on cuts in Local Government and Alf spoke at length from the floor. I remember being impressed with his wide-ranging knowledge on a great variety of topics, and how articulate he was. This was also demonstrated in his blog, of which I was an avid reader - always looking forward to his intelligent analysis of local, national, and international events.

When I was challenging my trade union leadership over an issue a while ago, I was touched when Alf got in touch with me to offer his advice and support. We then got to talking about other issues, and how we could help each other. Alf and I were both outraged at the recent treatment by local Councils of Travellers and Gypsies in the region, finding it representative of the wider persecution they have been facing across Europe, and we had been in discussion about setting up a local support group for these communities, and together we started letter writing to the EU to ask them for an inquiry around the persecution that these communities faced, especially in Italian cities.

The last time I spoke to him he was incredibly enthusiastic about the recent re-launch of Worthing Trades Council, and he was urging me to attend the public meeting on eco-socialism he was arranging for next week.

Alf was Jewish, and committed to building solidarity between anti-Zionist Jews and Palestinians, and was also well known for his anti-fascist work. He was an intelligent, outspoken, driven, passionate, and warm man, and I very much regret that I only knew him for such a short time.
To borrow some words from another comrade who has written about him, “The best tribute we can pay to you is to keep the flame alight and the struggle for justice undimmed.”

Rest in peace comrade, you will be missed.

What do I remember about Alf?

In the late 90s and early 2000’s he was active as an independent in the Socialist Alliance in Brent, where I was also living and (sometimes) active. I didn’t know him terribly well but was impressed by his energy and independence of mind. He didn’t (as far as I can remember) get involved in Respect, probably because of scepticism about George Galloway and what he saw as communalist politics. Also he from time to time had to withdraw from political life because of his own health and because he had onerous care responsibilities for his son. When I moved to Brighton in 2007, I was also physically remote.

Out of the blue he made contact with us about 18 months ago, saying he was looking for a place to live on the South Coast after his early retirement. He rapidly decided that Brighton was too expensive, and eventually chose a small house in West Worthing.

He duly started to find his feet in Worthing and found that it had a small group of activists on various questions including a successful fight against privatisation of downland owned by the district council. He decided to set up a blog for himself and for all SR activities on the South Coast, and I helped him set this up during a productive visit to his home last January. There I also met his son Laurence. Subsequently he has from time to time asked me for more help, but usually he worked out how to do it for himself before I had the chance to respond.

My impression is of an astounding activist, whose energy and voice will live for a long time in our memories. He turned round the movement in Worthing and showed all the signs of livening things up all along the south coast, with plans to link up to Southampton and Portsmouth as well as Brighton.

4 comments:

Corinne and I only knew Alf for a short time after he moved to Worthing from London. We met him at the Worthing Solidarity Network meetings and he made a huge impression on us. He was passionate in his views and was not afraid to put his point across. He was kindhearted, generous with a wicked sense of humour and we came to love him and he said he was glad he had met so many friendly people in Worthing in such a short time. We will always remember you Alf.Love from Corinne and Rosemary (WSN)

There is all in Veronica Hearst e.g. style, charisma, stardom but she is known for being philanthropic socialite. Veronica Hearst is not only known for being the wife of Randolph Hearst of Hearst Corporation but also for being the founder of American Hunger Alliance who has aim to feed the poor in the hour of need.

About Me

We believe that the function of socialists must be to support the self organisation of working people in their struggles against all forms of oppression, both at home and internationally.
We totally reject sectarianism, where one group puts its interests above that of the working class.
e.mail: socialistresistance.sussex@googlemail.com